Packing machine



A. G. ROSE PACKING MACHINE Oct. 22, 1935.

Filed July 17, 1934 Patented Oct. 22, 1935 1 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE PACKING MACHINE Alfred German Rose,

Gainsborough, England,

assignor to Rose Brothers (Gainsborough) Limited, Gainsborough, England, a British company 3 Claims.

This invention relates to apparatus for inserting articles or packages into cans or other receptacles. The invention is concerned with such apparatus-of the known type wherein there is provided a receptacle holder having a tubular guide to receive the open end of a container passed over the outer surface of the guide and yieldably to hold the container thereon, and loading means operating in conjunction with the receptacle holder to thrust an article through the guide into the receptacle and to push the receptacle, together with the article contained in it, free from engagement with the guide. In one known construction of apparatus of this type the guide comprises a plurality of resilient guide members arranged in tubular formation, secured at the one end in a tubular support and free at the other end to enter into and retain the receptacle by resiliently bearing on its inner surface.

In apparatus of this type as hitherto employed, the loading means comprises a discharging plunger to free the receptacle from the holder; this discharging plunger is uniformly somewhat smaller in cross-section than the inner dimensions of the receptacle and is actuated to engage and press against the outer surface of the article deposited in the receptacle with such force as to free the receptacle from the guide. It has been found in practice that this form of apparatus is unsatisfactory for inserting into a metal can or like receptacle, an article of a fragile character (such for example as a package which consists of a quantity of loosely shredded tobacco enclosed in a thin wrapper of the delicate material commonly known under the registered trade mark Cel1ophane). The can has to be sufficiently tightly held in place to receive the article thrust into it, and the increased pressure which must be applied by the discharging plunger to free the can from the guide badly crushes the article and destroys its attractive appearance and salable value.

The object of this invention is to overcome this difiiculty, and according to the invention there is provided an apparatus of the type referred to wherein the loading means comprises a plunger which is movable to engage with and press against the open end of the receptacle to push the latter free of the receptacle holder. Thus, the can is freed from the gripping action of the guide without necessarily exerting any pressure on the article in the receptacle, and consequently the article is not crushed or spoiled in any way.

In a convenient construction according to the invention, the loading means comprises a plunger which has an operative end to contact with the article in the container and a plurality of lateral projections spaced apart to hear at different parts of the open end of the receptacle. The plunger thus retains the .article in the receptacle when 5 the latter is freed from the holder. Preferably, the operative end of the plunger is slightly in advance of the projections and is also slightly smaller in size than the open end of the receptacle, in order to enter into the receptacle and exert light pressure on the article.

One embodiment of the invention is illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawing, in which:-

Figure 1 is an end view of the receptacle holder and plunger,

Figure 2 is a side view, partly in section,

Figure 3 is a plan, and

Figure 4 is a perspective view showing diagrammatically one form of apparatus employing the go improved receptacle holder and loading means.

Referring to the drawing, the receptacle holder comprises two complementary parts 10 and II secured together to provide a hollow construction for the passage of the article to be charged into a receptacle. On the inner side of the parts In and II there are mounted tw resilient guide members I 2 and I3 respectively, and each of these guide members is formed with a flange 14 by which it is clamped between the corresponding part 10 or H and a clamping ring IS.

The guide members l2 and I3 extend from the rear of the holder to receive a can as indicated at l6 passed over them. These guide members are arranged yieldingly to bear upon the inner walls of the can, and in order to enable the can to be applied the guide member I2 is longer than the member l3 so that the can may first be passed over the guide member 12 and then over the other guide member l3.

For removing the receptacle from the guide members, after the article has been placed therein, for example as hereinafter described, there is provided a reciprocating plunger l1. This plunger is uniformly somewhat smaller in crosssectional dimensions than the passage for the article through the holder and between the guide members 12 and I 3 and also smaller than the internal dimensions of the can. At opposite sides of the plunger 11 and at a short distance from its operative end there are two transverse projections I8, and corresponding channels I 9 are provided in the holder between the adjacent edges of the guide members 12 and I3 to receive these projections.

Thus, in operation, the article or package is thrust in any convenient manner into the receptacle holder, and partially or fully into the receptacle. The plunger is then advanced to locate the article properly in the receptacle and to engage, by means of the projections l8, the open end of the receptacle to free it, with the article inside, from the gripping action of the guide members without exerting any excessive It is of advantage in pressure on the article.

some cases to apply light pressure on the article in the receptacle by the operative end of the plunger H, but alternatively the end of the plunger may be flush with the front, of the projections so that no such pressure is applied. The plunger is then Withdrawn for the next operation.

The apparatus hereinbefore' described may be embodied in various forms of packing mechanism. For instance, a plurality of receptacle holders are arranged in known manner spaced apart along an endless conveyor indicated at 20 in Figure 4, supported on sprocket wheels of which one is indicated'at 2|, driven to advance the receptacles step-by-step and to come to rest temporarily at a charging station and opposite to a charging slide'22 carried in a guide 23 and reciprocated V by any convenient means such as an oscillating free the receptacle as'above described.

I claim:- Y r 1. In a packing machine, a holder having an article passage therethrough adapted to receive a receptacle at one end thereof, means for movtion', m'eans'for inserting an article into the holding the holder from one station to another station, means for inserting an article into the holder at one station at the end opposite the receptacle, and means at another station'for pressing the article into the receptacle and for removing the receptacle from the holder, saidlast-mentioned means comprising a plunger having a lateral projection thereon to bear on the edge of the receptacle, there being guides through the holder for said projections, and means for moving said plunger into and endwise through the holder from a position outside the holder.

2. In a packing machine, a holder having an article passage therethrough adapted to receive a receptacle at one end thereof, means for moving the holder from one station to another staer at one station at the end opposite the receptacle, and means at another station for pressing the article into the receptacle and for removing the receptacle from the holder, said lastmentioned means comprising a plunger having a plurality of lateral projections to contact the edges of the receptacle at spaced apart points, therebeing guides through the holder for said projections, and means for moving said plunger into and endwise through the holder from a position outside the holder.

3. Apparatus for inserting an article into re ceptacles, comprising a receptacle holder having an article passage therethrough, there being a plurality of guide channels extending through said receptacle holder opening into the article passage, yieldable receptacle grippers and article guiding members extending outwardly from the rear of the holder, a reciprocating plunger mounted in front of the holder and arranged to be moved from a point in front of the holder through the holder and projections on the plunger inline with the channels through the holder, arranged to engage a receptacle on the grippers and push it off the grippers.

ALFRED GERMAN ROSE. 

